Tag: abusive
Metacritic promises better moderation after ‘abusive’ Horizon DLC comments
Review aggregation site Metacritic promises to improve its moderation system after the recent release of DLC for Horizon Forbidden West prompted a rash of negative review bombing. This story contains spoilers for Burning Shores, so stop reading now if you don’t want to know some story events from the game.
The DLC in question, Burning Shores, features an option for a same-gender kiss as part of a storyline involving protagonist Aloy and a warrior queen named Sekya. This is a completely optional event, but it seemed to have prompted an onslaught of keyboard warriors with a Google alert set for the word “woke.”
The dedicated Burning Shores page was slammed with negative user reviews, which is an all-too common practice nowadays. Metacritic’s parent company Fandom has called out many of these reviews for being “abusive and disrespectful.” Keep in mind, this instance involves a small voluntary event that only appears as an option for certain players if they pursue prior flirtatious dialogue choices.
Fandom says that Metacritic “is a place of belonging for all fans” and that it takes “online trust and safety very seriously.” To that end, company reps say they are “currently evolving our processes and tools” surrounding reviews and content moderation. It has not announced any specific changes. In the meantime, Metacritic points to what the current system is doing right.
“Our team reviews each and every report of abuse (including but not limited to racist, sexist, homophobic, insults to other users, etc) and if violations occur, the reviews are removed,” Metacritic wrote in a statement to Eurogamer.
Of course, this is not the first incidence of review bombing to plague the platform and not the first time Metacritic has implemented changes to stem the tide. The Last of Us Part II received a glut of hateful reviews for all-too-similar reasons, which forced the aggregator to mandate a 36-hour waiting period after a game’s release to open up reviews to the general public. Steam did something similar, as user reviews are accompanied by the amount of time the person actually spent playing the game. The changes Metacritic made in 2020 clearly didn’t make a difference in this case, so we’ll see if the company has more concrete plans to protect its platform.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/metacritic-promises-better-moderation-after-abusive-horizon-dlc-comments-190545138.html?src=rss
India won’t tolerate abusive, obscene content on streaming services, minister warns
India will not tolerate use of abusive language in movies and TV shows on on-demand video streaming services, a key minister has warned in a move that illustrates how the nation’s IT rules have “handed over direct ministerial power for censorship.” Anurag Thakur, Union Minister of Information Broadcasting and Sports and Youth Affairs, said at […]
India won’t tolerate abusive, obscene content on streaming services, minister warns by Manish Singh originally published on TechCrunch
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French Court Levies Fine Against Apple for Abusive App Store Practices
The decision is the result of a multi-year investigation by France’s consumer affairs and fraud watchdog (DGCCRF), overseen by the French ministry of finance. French finance minister Bruno Le Maire has been championing the rights of developers, and he believes that Apple and Google’s app stores take advantage of software developers. His investigation found that there are “significant imbalances” in the relationships between Apple and Google and the developers that sell apps on those stores.
In a statement, Apple said that it will look into the court’s decision and will continue to work with French developers. The company also said that it believes in “vibrant and competitive markets” that allow innovation to flourish.
We will review this French court decision closely and will continue working hard to deliver support for developers and a safe experience for users.
Through the App Store, we’ve helped French developers of all sizes share their passion and creativity with users around the world while creating a secure and trusted place for customers.
The fine that Apple has been hit with is minuscule in terms of the company’s income, but it could potentially lead to orders for App Store rule changes.
Apple is dealing with several other inquiries into its App Store and business practices in France, Germany, the Netherlands, the UK, and the United States, to name a few.
This article, “French Court Levies Fine Against Apple for Abusive App Store Practices” first appeared on MacRumors.com
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